Cycling to Work

Now that the thunderstorms and rain clouds are no longer taking up residence in my little town on a daily basis, I can start cycling to work. My commute is a very doable 15 miles each way, but after making this trip a couple times already this year, I find good clothing and equipment more and more a necessity - no longer a luxury. Tonight, we all four walked up to Century Cycles to pick up some much-needed gear. I can't wait to wear my new cycling skort, which will double as my work skirt - shhh don't tell my coworkers.


I also picked up an affordable pair of Avenir cycling gloves made by Raleigh. I always thought gloves were for pretentious cyclists...until my hands got super-tired-sore from my last ride. So yeah, they're a bit more necessary now.

So here's hoping for sunshine and 70s - great cycling weather for my ride in to work!

Swimming MILEstone

For the first time, I swam a mile! I was useless afterwards and often wondered if my knuckles were dragging against the floor from my fatigued arms, but... I SWAM A MILE! I will definitely sleep like a baby :)

Long Run Accomplished

The training for the Anchorage half marathon is moving along...albeit slowly. Last week's lovely weeklong rotavirus visit caused me to lose some significant distance, including a crucial long run. But training is moving along. I knocked out a 10-miler today. I purposely took the run easy and maybe I went too easy as I have no tired muscles as of this writing. Waking up tomorrow may be a different version. Next week a 12-miler is on tap. I'll finish the half, it might just not be as pretty as I'd like. But hey, not all races can be sunshine and rainbows!

My favorite song line while running today: I have a girlfriend with bows in her hair. Is anything better than that, is it? Gotta love Talking Heads.

So what's your favorite line lately?

It's a Matter of Time Before I Have Webbed Feet

My husband keeps trying to assure me that EVERYONE in the Midwest is dealing with rain right now. Whatever. I am dealing with rain. Cleveland is dealing with rain and, if evolution holds true, I will acquire the webbed feet as survival!

Last night, I cut the grass while it was sprinkling. Sprinkling is the closest I'm going to get to a dry, sunny day and when the grass starts tickling your calves, it's time to intervene. Bridget splashed around in puddles and I cross trained by pushing a lawn mower through heavy wet grass. Fun times had by all.

But a funny thing happened. It stopped raining at exactly 8:43pm. I ran inside, laced up my sneakers, leashed up the dog and bolted for a quick 3-miler. And it was my turn to splash through all the sidewalk puddles!

My First DNS

Today was the Cleveland Rite Aid marathon, half marathon and 10k. I was originally signed up for the 10k race. But after spending 6 days experiencing all the joys that rotavirus has to offer, I decided today would not be my day to run a 10k. Best. decision. ever. Feeling like a new person this afternoon and I've had the best 6 hours of my entire week. I'm on the mend.

Hopefully I'll have more to report this week on multi-discipline training. I am scheduled to swim 3 days, run 3 days and bike 2 days. I'll swim during my lunch hours, run during the evenings with Bridget in the stroller or Jameson on his leash, and hopefully bike to work at least one of the days and maybe a nice long ride with Greg on Saturday.

So what exciting kind of schedule do you have this week?

First (Real) Long Run of the Year

Just knocked out an 8 miler bright and early. I smiled the entire run, said hello to strangers and even took a picture of ducks as if it was the first time I saw wildlife. I was happy to be out there running. There was no speed and even though I walked one minute after each mile (to reduce strain to the knee), I still managed to hit 12:00 minute miles. Plenty of room for improvement, but if I'm going to build mileage for the upcoming June half marathon, then I also have to be smart about it. Beautiful day today and I ended the week logging in 20 miles!

Favorite running music today - the Foo Fighters latest!

Oh, the best reward to a long run: sampling Willoughby Brewing's Peanut Butter Coffee Porter on tap at Happy Dog tonight!

Musical Motivation

Since I generally "check" my magazines out of the library, it means I'm rarely reading the current issue. Yesterday, I knocked out the March 2011 issue of Fitness magazine. In their Live Healthy section, there was a neat article in which various Fitness editors responded to which song lyrics do they put on "mental repeat" to get them psyched for racing or working out. A few of the lyrics/songs were:

• "Ain't nothin going to break my stride. I got to keep on moving." (Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder)
• "Take it easy. take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy." (Take It Easy, The Eagles)
• "What you waiting for. What you waiting for". (What You Waiting For, Gwen Stefani)

I think for me it's any song by the Red hot Chili Peppers. But if I had to choose one, it'd be Breaking the Girl by RHCP. To me, the song is infectious. The lyrics, the beat, Anthony Keidis' voice. I get lost in the song and find that "zone" that allows me to dig deep.

So what's your musical motivator? Do you have a go-to song that triggers that "go deep" feeling?

Hal Higdon It Is

In my home and work life, I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. I thrive on chaos (I deal regularly with labor relations issues, so that's a plus) and I love spontaneity and risk. But when it comes to my running, I crave the structure of a tried and true training plan. Thank you Hal Higdon. I am hoping that good old Hal's intermediate half marathon training plan will lead to a successful performance in Alaska. I can't be alone in my excitement of filling in dates and marking up a calendar For long runs, tempos and speed workouts.

While home with a sick kid today, I had the chance to see Spirit of the Marathon on the Documentary Channel. The marathon distance really is a physical and mental roller coaster. And I can't wait to jump back on the ride again. Hmm...I might have to consider a late fall marathon. Between having a great run earlier today, Hal Higdon's training plan and this movie, I'm feeling incredibly motivated!

Goggle Eyes

Help - I have "goggle eyes." After swimming during my lunch hour this week, I came back to work with that tell-tale racoon eyes look. Several coworkers asked either "what happened?" or "were you swimming again?" The speedos that I have are a mid-range price pair, but in order to keep the water out, I have to pull them tighter. My old pair never had this problem, but I can't find them anywhere.

Suggestions?